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Iran has enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb in a week – report

Iran has been cooperating less with inspectors in recent years, making it more likely the country could develop nuclear capabilities without detection.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iran has enough enriched weapon-grade uranium to produce a nuclear bomb in one week, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.

The Washington-based Institute upgraded the Iran threat to “Extreme Danger” level, the highest of its six ratings for the first time since the institute began tracking Iran in the 1990s.

The report says that Iran’s breakout time has been at zero since 2022, meaning “it has more than enough… highly enriched uranium (HEU) to directly fashion a nuclear explosive.”

The report goes on to say, ““[Iran] can break out and produce enough weapon-grade enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in a week.”

The report elaborates, “(this can be accomplished) by using only a fraction of its 60 percent enriched uranium. This breakout could be difficult for inspectors to detect promptly, if Iran took steps to delay inspectors’ access.”

With the rest of its uranium stock, Iran “could have in total enough weapon-grade uranium for six weapons in one month, and after five months of producing weapon-grade uranium, it could have enough for twelve.”

Although uranium isn’t the only component needed to make a nuclear bomb, it’s the hardest to obtain, and having more than sufficient weapon-grade enriched uranium puts Iran ahead of the game when it comes to making nuclear weapons.

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Although Iran has sufficient uranium to make a weapon in a week, the actual manufacturing time for a weapon and its delivery system is much longer.

However, the institute warns that if Iran wanted to develop a simple warhead delivered by ship or a vehicle, it could do so in about six months.

Also, the institute notes that Iran has been cooperating less and less with inspectors in recent years, and this increases the likelihood that Iran could develop nuclear capabilities without detection.